Process of making silicon compounds and by-products.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL PEACOCK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO INTER-NATIONALAGRICUL- TURAL CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK.

PROCESS OF MAKING SILICON COMPOUNDS AND BY-PRODUCTS.

No Drawing.

To till whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL PEACOCK, acitizenof the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of ject the manufacture of these compounds" more expeditiouslyand with less expense than heretofore.

To these ends, the invention consists in the novelsteps constituting myprocess more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

In carrying out my invention, I preferably employ feldspar, or leucite,as the raw material, although, ofcourse, other sources or silicon,aluminum, and potassium may be employed. I make a mixture of finelydivided feldspar and carbon, and so proportion the same that there ispresent therein for every pound of alumina, substantially three-fourthsof a pound of carbon; for each pound of potash (K 0) there is presentsubstantially three-tenths (.30) of a pound of carbon; and for eachpound of silica thereis present substantially eight-tenths (.80) poundsof carbon. This mixture is heated in an electric furnace. and as thetemperature rises to say 2500 C., a flow ofnitrogeif gas is maintainedthrough or over the mixture. This flow may be accomplished either byemploying a closed furnace and sucking the gas through by means of asuitable pump, or the furnace may be open at one or both ends, andthegas forced through. I prefer the former. on account of the greatereconomy in the nitrogen required. Under such conditions and with thehigh temperature, the alumina present gives rise to a higher carbid A10,, which doesnot dissociate to form the lower carbid A1 0 because saidhigher. carbid immediately in the presence of nitrogen forms a carbo-Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22:, 1915.

Application filed July 17, 1912. Serial No. 710,101.

nitrid in accordance with the following equation Al,C,+3N,:A1,J .C N,.Likewise under the conditions stated, the

potassium oxid present gives rise to a potassuun carbid R 0, whichimmediately forms a potassium carbo-nitrid in accordance with thefollowing equation 3K C+3N,:K N .C N,.

Both of these carbo-nitrids are volatile at high temperature employed,and may be conveniently sucked out of the furnace and collected inbagseparators or forced into a (ligestor. By sucking out, or otherwiseremovingfrom the atmosphere of the furnace, these volatilizedcarbonitrids, as well as the other gaseous products of the reaction asfast as they are formed, I greatly increase the Velocity of thereaction, and am further enabled to produce said vnitrids at a lowert'emperatm'e than would otherwise be the case. After the saidcarbo-nitrids are received in the digestor, they are subjected to theaction of superheated steam at a pressure of say 5 to 7 atmospheres,whereupon the following reactions take place, producing alumina,potassium carbonate, and ammo- Illfl Of course, more or less siliconcarlio-nitrid Si .,l\" ,.(1 i\ will also form, but at the hightemperature of the furnace charge. it will practically all dissociateand remain in the form of a carbid. By now cutting off the trcjien andraising the temperature of the furnace to say 2300 C., the well knownproduct siloxicon. Si C may be obtained, as well as other oxy carbids;and by still further increasing the temperature up to say 3.300? G, thelower silicon carbid Sic may be obtained. It will thus be seen that myinvention takes advantage of the high temperature necessary to makesiloxicon, or silicon carbid. to produce carbo-nitrids, without an extracost of energy, and that from these carlrids alumina. potassiumcarbonate, and ammonia may be produced. Further, the alumina and potashare separated from reached; so that when said last 'mentioned compoundsare-to be formed, the proper proportions of silica are present in thecharge.

It therefore follows that the above by-prod-' nets are obtained, Withoutinterfering withv the regular process of making the said siliconcompounds.

What I claim is 1. The process of producing a. compound containingsiliconand carbon while obtaining metallic carbo-nitrids' as by productswhich consists in providing a suitable mixture of carbon and a mineral.containing silicon, aluminum and potassium; heating said mixture in anatmosphere of nitrogen to a temperature sufficient to form in a gaseousstate aluminum and potassium carbo-nitrids; removing said carbo-nitridsfrom the'furnace; and further heating said charge to a temperaturesuflicient to form a compound containing silicon and carbon,

substantially as described.-

The process of producing a compound containing silicon and carbon Whileobtaining metallic carbo-nitrids as .by products which consists-inproviding a suitable mixture of carbon and a mineral containing silicon,aluminum and potassium; heating said mixture in an atmosphere ofnitrogen to a temperature sufficient to form in a gases ous statealuminum and potassium carbo-l nitrids; removing said carbo-nitrids fromthe furnace as fast as formed; treating said removed carbo-nitrids withsuperheated steam; and further heating said charge to a temperaturesuflicient to form acompound containing silicon and carbon,substantially as described.

3. The process of producing a silicon and carbon compound Whileobtaining metallic carbo-nitrids as by products,' which consists inproviding a suitable finely divided mixture of carbon and feldspar;heating said mixture to substantially 2500 Cpin the presence of freenitrogen; removing the products of the reaction from the furnace as fastas formed; and further heating said SAMUEL PEAcocK.

Witnesses: M i I T. A. W THERsrOON, N. CURTIS LAMMOND.

charge to a temperature suflicient to form

